Ethical issues at the end of life in Catholic bioethics

Since over 20% of Americans are Catholic, and 1 in 7 patients in the U.S. is admitted to a Catholic hospital, Catholic moral theology has a significant impact on medical decisions at the end of life. In this talk, Dr. Gremmels will outline foundational principles and concepts in Catholic moral theology regarding end of life care. He will review the 1,800-year history of the development of these principles, discuss some recent developments in Church teaching, and provide examples of how patients and clinicians might apply them in a clinical setting. Participants will learn concepts and language to talk to patients about end-of-life care and help identify when seeking ethics expertise might be helpful.